Heroes Never Die, Bitch
by casnotcass
Summary: ...but sometimes they do. And they go to heaven. (MAJOR 10.22 SPOILERS) Some post-Charlie feels. T For violence and language.
1. Chapter 1

The shards of black glass from the tablet scattered the floor and the porcelain sink.

Charlie's heart pounded in her head.

Her hands trembled, feeling her cargo pants for the knife she had on her.

This was it. She knew she was backed into a corner.

Dean and Sam were not going to make it in time.

The door creaked open.

Adrenaline pumped through her. Her job at this point was to fight. There were no more moves, no more angles to play. There was no system to hack through.

In the eleventh hour, all she had was herself and her knife. Was this worth it?

Of course. It was worth it. This is for her family.

Thunder and lightning clapped outside the dirty windows.

"You're gonna give me what's mahn. What's mahn and my family's", He drawled. His left arm dripped water and blood, cut off and wrapped at the elbow. The rain had soaked him, saturated his clothes so that they stuck to his body. He didn't look cold. He looked deadly.

She's faced worse, though. She made it through the Leviathans. She made it through Oz. She kicked the wicked witch's ass.

She held out her knife, ready to move. Charlie's face darkened as she faced her foe. _You will come out of this just fine,_ she told herself.

"Bring it on, bitch." She spat at him.

He lunged at her and she jumped to the side, her arm moved swiftly to drag her dagger across the side of his neck.

Blood pumped out of him, but it didn't slow him down. Her heart dropped.

She stabbed him in the side, up under his ribcage and he growled. No scream, no stumble. What were these bastards made of?

He lunged at her again, knife in hand. She slipped out around him into the bedroom of the motel. Charlie could be quick: she was smaller than him. This could play out in her favor. She knew Dean and Sam were on their way. They had her back and they'd make it in time. She had to beat the clock.

"You're a feisty little girl, aren't you?" He walked towards her, blood dully oozing out of the wound in his neck. "You can't run forever, Ms. Asimov."

Charlie walked backwards into the chair she left in the middle of the room _. Fuck_ She lost her footing scrambling to get back up into a fighting position, sliding herself across the sidewall and knocking over a lamp.

Eldon took his momentary advantage and decreased the distance between them, running towards her. He reached out to grab the edge of her plaid shirttail, pulling her forward to punch her in the face. The back of her head hit the wall and she felt nauseous.

He hit her again. She wanted to throw up. He let her fall to the ground with that blow, giving her the opportunity to grab her dagger. She sliced into the back of his ankle, _hard,_ and he toppled over with a guttural yell. She beat him in the face with the fallen lamp. Blood trickled out of his mouth and nose. She sighed happily and stood up straight.

Her ears prickled as her phone vibrated against the green toilet in the bathroom. She stumbled back into the tiny room, her fingers shaking against the thin plastic and glowing buttons. Dean was calling her. Her best friend. They were coming. She knew they would. After all that they had been through together she knew they would come through for her. She was gonna make it. She smiled and wiped a stray tear.

A sharp pain electrified her back.

Eldon's paws held her shoulder as he ripped his knife out of her flesh. Her knees shook and he whispered into her ear, "I told ya, girl. You can't run anymore."

He spun her around and smiled smugly at her, teeth red with blood. She spat in his face, literally this time.

He stabbed her in the stomach.

She made no noise, her mouth agape.

He stabbed her again, harder. He wanted a reaction. He wanted something from her.

She grunted.  
He stabbed her again, satisfied, letting her fall backwards into the bathtub. She spat blood onto the toilet seat and bobbed her head to look up at him.

He bent down to put his hands on his knees. She glared at him, eyelids fluttering and struggling to stay open. "What is it, girl? You look like you wanna say somethin'."

She locked eyes with him and smiled, blood dripping out of her mouth.

"Heroes never die." She declared proudly.

The smile fell from his face and he scoffed.

"Bitch." She growled softly. Her head fell backwards on the tub.

Eldon threw his knife down onto the floor and turned on his heel, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he walked out of the motel room.

Charlie opened her eyes again, relieved that Eldon was gone. Who wants to spend their last moments with the person that killed them?

Fuck, her last moments. This couldn't be it.

Blood pooled in her mouth and she spat it out. The taste of iron was quickly being replenished on her tongue. She lifted her hand from her belly. The deep gashes on her stomach weren't bleeding as much as she expected. Maybe she would survive. Her new best friend Castiel could come along and work his angel magic.

She bowed her head and sobbed. Her tears left tracks on her face, the taste of salt a nice change from the taste of blood.

Her phone buzzed on the floor. It was too far to reach.

Charlie wiped the tears from her face with her free hand. She shook her hair out of her face. She wasn't going to die with tears in her eyes. That's not how it was gonna go.

"Sam!" She yelled out, her breathing labored. "Dean!"

She closed her eyes. They would be there. They promised they would be there.

"Fucking Winchesters." She whispered to herself, giggling.

When she opened her eyes, she realized she was looking at a small wooden door, with a circular window. She crawled out of it.

Everything on the outside looked too bright.

Very bright, and very green.

"Holy hallucinations, Batman."


	2. Chapter 2

Charlie laughed. Hysterically.

She laughed and angry tears rolled from her eyes.

"You've got to be kidding me. You've got to be _fucking_ kidding me."

She wasn't talking to anyone. She leaned against the tiny door that was lodged under the grassy hill.

"A _hobbit hole_. Christ." She rubbed her stomach, no longer torn up from the blade Eldon had used on her.

He laughs faded and she took in her surroundings. In front of her was a long, hilly path, lined with cobblestones. It felt familiar. It felt weirdly safe and open. The feeling of overwhelming relief waved over her.

The Shire. This was her heaven.

She screamed.

She screamed to see if anything would come for her. She screamed to see if it would wake her up. She screamed because she couldn't believe she died. Alone. She felt angry, no matter how 'calm' her surroundings were supposed to be.

She sat down and cried, her legs splayed out like she used to tantrum as a little kid. She let the sobs rock through her back and head, her hands ripping grass out of the ground.

It felt really good to cry.

Charlie laid down, her head cushioned by the soft patch of land outside the door of her hobbit house.

Her sobs slowed down. Her quiet tears slid down the sides of her face into her ears and she tried flicking them away.

She looked at the sky. Her sky. It was a perfect blue, with big white cotton candy clouds. Each one looked like an animal, like it was on purpose. Charlie watched a family of cloud-elephants float through the sky above her.

Her hands thoughtlessly reached up and felt a bush covered in purple flowers. Without looking, she pulled them from their stems and tucked them behind her ear. This was fine. She could do this.

"Get up." Charlie told herself. "Let's go."

She jumped on her feet. She looked at herself more carefully.

Even though the sun warmed her face, she was the perfect temperature in her pink hoodie and Ravenclaw t-shirt. Her black jeans were appropriately ripped in one knee and she was even wearing her favorite pair of converse, which had a streak of blue paint on the side. She smiled sadly down at them.

Charlie stretched herself out, cracking her knuckles and twisting her back. She shook out her hands and rolled her head.

Clearing her throat, she held her head high and said, "Alright, self. Let's get on with it."

She started down the path, the light spring breeze ruffling her short red waves.

&&&&&&&&###&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Charlie walked until her legs couldn't make the same long strides. She looked down at her feet and saw her feet were now in red Keds with cheap red and gold boot covers held to her calves with elastic bands.

When she looked up, the path in front of her was to a house in her old neighborhood, and she held out a bucket that looked like a pumpkin in her right hand.

Her nails were meticulously painted red and gold. She smoothed her left hand over her polyester costume and tutu. She smiled, genuinely this time. And she instinctively held out her left hand to have it clasped by a warm palm.

"Okay, Celeste, do you remember what you say when they open the door?"

Charlie looked up at her mother, whose brown eyes sparkled down at her. She was dressed up, too, wearing a black bodysuit that shimmered above the silver belt around her waist. She had big crescent moon earrings that jangled when she turned her head. Charlie smiled at her. The Donna Troy to her Wonder Woman.

Charlie gulped down whatever was welling up inside her.

On cue, she responded: "Trick or Treat, right mommy?"

Gertrude Middleton leaned down to kiss the top of Charlie's head. "That's right, my Wonder Woman." She lovingly adjusted the gold plastic tiara on her head.

Charlie approached the front door of the suburban home. A tall, gray haired man opened it. She looked back at her mother, who was nodding excitedly with a camera and giving her the thumbs up.

Charlie looked at the man and smirked. "Trick or treat!"

She held out her pumpkin pail expectantly.

"Aw, how cute! It's Wonder Girl!" He rubbed the top of her head and Charlie pursed her lips, recalling her next line.

"It's Wonder Woman, you dummy." Charlie grinned. The words still felt good in her mouth, like a chocolate bar she would eat later that evening.

"Excuse me?" He said, raising his eyebrows down at her.

"Celeste!" Her mother scolded from down the path.

Charlie bowed her head, still holding out her pail. "Sorry, mister. Treat?"

"Oh sweetheart, we're sorry but we ran out of candy!" His eyebrows furrowed together in a feigned apology.

Charlie's eyes narrowed at him. "That's a lie." She pulled a gold spray-painted lasso out of her teddy bear backpack.

"What?"

She whipped her little lasso around his legs and yanked with her entire body. He tripped weakly and fell off of his doorstep onto their porch.

Charlie grinned and raised her arms in victory. "I WRAP YOU IN THE LASSO OF TRUTH. I SEEK JUSTICE. I AM WONDER WOMAN!" She yelled towards the rest of the neighborhood. She put one foot on the shoulder of her fallen neighbor.

Her mother rushed towards her, red faced and scooped Charlie up off of the porch, swearing and apologizing to the man as he pushed himself up and untied the lasso from around his knees.

She jogged with a full-grown Charlie in her arms down the street out of sight of the house and set her down. Charlie looked up at her mother, waiting for her words.

Gertrude smiled at Charlie and started laughing. They sat on the sidewalk and laughed together. Charlie wiped a tear from her mother's eye and kissed her on the cheek.

She took a breath. "Happy Halloween, Mommy."

"Happy Halloween, Leste."


End file.
